The machine is on the way and i should have it soon.
Do you recommend going for AC+? it costs 449 Euros
Any good or bad experiences with AC+?
Do you recommend going for AC+? it costs 449 Euros
Any good or bad experiences with AC+?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
new MBP 16": Apple Care plus
- Thread starter icloudUser
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I can't speak for non-US consumer laws so you need to compare what your local consumer laws have to offer and compare that to AC+
My personal opinion is that with the rash of problems that seem to hit the MBP, the AC+ is almost a required purchase. I know that boosts the overall cost fairly high but I think it buys you peace of mind down the road.
peace of mind is what I was thinking about.
I suppose it would be bad luck if there is any problem with the machine and one would need to spend hours on phone with apple customer care and all the back and forth regardless of AC+
So does it come down to low cost repairs outside warranty?
do you know the upfront payment for a claim?
I suppose it would be bad luck if there is any problem with the machine and one would need to spend hours on phone with apple customer care and all the back and forth regardless of AC+
So does it come down to low cost repairs outside warranty?
do you know the upfront payment for a claim?
That goes a long way, and I'm not discounting it.
I'm not sure about the deductibles, though I think they may differ on the type of work
Have you check with your home insurance?
My home insurance cover any repair upp to XX€ (depends on what you sign up for) to a deductible cost of €130.
With that said I never buy extra insurance for any gadgets.
My home insurance cover any repair upp to XX€ (depends on what you sign up for) to a deductible cost of €130.
With that said I never buy extra insurance for any gadgets.
the only exception in my case is the air pods pro. Got AC+ as it was cheap.
Now the new MBP is an expensive piece of HW so I am considering AC+.
It would be good to know about the AC+ experience from anyone who had to use it for their MBP.
If I decide to keep my 16" then I think I'll put off the £399 AC+ purchase and see how things roll for a few months. Might then buy AC (for the same price) before 12 months is up. Seems a grey area as to how this is done but I've got a transcript from online Apple chat stating it can be done and they even shared a link to make the purchase.
I thought AC+ is only available to buy for up to 2 months after the device is bought. No?
With the reparability of these systems being so low, I always buy AppleCare+
Well, from my own experience with AC+, after numerous repeats of the same manufacturer based issue with logic board failure, they sent me the new unibody MBP that had just come out when I fully done dealing with being without my laptop for weeks at a time. I see a lot of media about this sort of thing still occurring when it's justified, so I would definitely pick up AC+ because they'll take care of you. But tbh, I'm still on the fence about keeping it given Apple's inclination towards failure prone hardware.
I never, ever buy extended warranties on low-cost items. Yes, the MBP is a low-cost item. Most people (pay attention to that caveat of "most people") who do, end up paying far more for warranties than they would for repairs—over time. Now, with something complex and expensive it makes sense, like a new car. A washer, a computer, a wifi router, no, no and no. It's easy money for the company providing them. But even then, my last car, I didn't buy the extra warranty. And you know what? It's fine. It's been fine for a long time. Same with all but one other car, which turned out to be a real problem child and I'll mention it in the second paragraph.
Most quality products come with a year warranty anyway, including the MacBook Pro. A lot of stuff that happens systemwide ends up being covered even past that (like the delaminating 2014/15 screens and 2016-2018 butterfly keyboards). Example: I own this car (mentioned above), it's broken down four freakin' times. Only one time was the repair something not on a recall where I had to pay for the repair, the other three were covered by the manufacturer well past the initial warranty. If I had bought their $5,000 extended warranty I wouldn't have had to pay for that one $900 repair. So, I'm still up $4,100 on that decision since even that warranty would be expired now.
I get it for someone who just wants to have that peace of mind for, what is it, three years? If that's worth it to you and you're a worrier, fine, but I want to point out that in the long run you are wasting some money if you do this all the time. Companies wouldn't offer these warranties if they weren't profitable.
Most quality products come with a year warranty anyway, including the MacBook Pro. A lot of stuff that happens systemwide ends up being covered even past that (like the delaminating 2014/15 screens and 2016-2018 butterfly keyboards). Example: I own this car (mentioned above), it's broken down four freakin' times. Only one time was the repair something not on a recall where I had to pay for the repair, the other three were covered by the manufacturer well past the initial warranty. If I had bought their $5,000 extended warranty I wouldn't have had to pay for that one $900 repair. So, I'm still up $4,100 on that decision since even that warranty would be expired now.
I get it for someone who just wants to have that peace of mind for, what is it, three years? If that's worth it to you and you're a worrier, fine, but I want to point out that in the long run you are wasting some money if you do this all the time. Companies wouldn't offer these warranties if they weren't profitable.
May be i am missing the point but I thought AC+ covers accidental damage and repair costs (with an excess amt) during its tenure. Its in addition to the warranty and consumer laws.
The std warranty doesnt cover for damage (which is fair).
For the car example, you pay yearly insurance.
When I had my 15" a few years back, the system was perfect for almost 3 years. A month before the AppleCare+ warranty was to expire the TB2 port started to fail - considering I used this for my external render drives it was a big issue!
Ended up going in for a complete logic board replacement - boy was I glad I had AppleCare+ for that!
The system worked fine after, although I sold it for a new model.
A MacBook is an expensive purchase. I've just spent several thousand on a new 16" model. the AppleCare+, for me, is covered by the educational discount I received, but even without discount I would still purchase it. Yes, you may not end up using it for the 3 years so it would be a waste of money in that case, but as with my example above, I would rather have the piece of mind knowing I'm covered!
I'm quite sure it covers accidental damage too - ie, broken screen etc, with an excess and a limit as to the number of times you can claim for accidental damage....
Ended up going in for a complete logic board replacement - boy was I glad I had AppleCare+ for that!
The system worked fine after, although I sold it for a new model.
A MacBook is an expensive purchase. I've just spent several thousand on a new 16" model. the AppleCare+, for me, is covered by the educational discount I received, but even without discount I would still purchase it. Yes, you may not end up using it for the 3 years so it would be a waste of money in that case, but as with my example above, I would rather have the piece of mind knowing I'm covered!
I'm quite sure it covers accidental damage too - ie, broken screen etc, with an excess and a limit as to the number of times you can claim for accidental damage....
That's what I thought too but wanted to know if AC (not AC+) was available beyond 2 months. According to the Apple rep (with chat transcript) I could buy AC (not AC+) between 2 months and 1 year for £399. Same as + but without the accident cover. Rep even sent me direct link to complete the purchase.
I wish that was the case but from what I've read, the customer has to jump through a load of hoops to prove how the issue is the manuf's responsibility etc. The likes of Apple may occasionally give people free keyboards for 4 yrs as they hold their hands up to that one, but a logic board failure after 27 months is less likely to get fixed for free.
I recently purchased a new laptop and I elected to go with the AppleCare. I don't generally purchase extended warranties, but for this one I went with it because:
1. It's a 1st generation product. The shell looks mostly the same from last gen, but new screen, new keyboard, new internals. There's some degree to which 1st gen tech product owners are guinea pigs, so this is a guard against that.
2. New laptop was purchased largely due to the fact that old laptop (a 2016 15" MBP, the first generation of the TouchBar, TB3 only MBPs) began having some significant issue that made it too unreliable to be a work machine. The techs that inspected it pointed to several hardware failures, all of which would have been costly out of pocket but completely mitigated with AppleCare.
So between those two points I basically paid $350 for peace of mind over the next three years.
In the end though, this is a personal question that can only be answered by you. My particular config cost $3899, so if two years or so in the thing just died and it was $1k+ (like it was for my quote to fix my 2016 laptop) how comfortable would you be in potentially replacing vs repairing the machine? Having to fork out $4000 to fix a problem that I could have resolved with $350 back when I purchased my old computer in 2016 was a tough pill to swallow. If this was year 2 or 3 in this product cycle I would be less inclined to buy the AppleCare, but in year 1 I'm going to buy a little insurance for this thing so I'm not potentially dealing with the same issue again in a couple of years. Also, if I were getting the base config, which can be had for about $2200, I probably would make a different decision on the AppleCare. But everyone's mileage on this will vary.
1. It's a 1st generation product. The shell looks mostly the same from last gen, but new screen, new keyboard, new internals. There's some degree to which 1st gen tech product owners are guinea pigs, so this is a guard against that.
2. New laptop was purchased largely due to the fact that old laptop (a 2016 15" MBP, the first generation of the TouchBar, TB3 only MBPs) began having some significant issue that made it too unreliable to be a work machine. The techs that inspected it pointed to several hardware failures, all of which would have been costly out of pocket but completely mitigated with AppleCare.
So between those two points I basically paid $350 for peace of mind over the next three years.
In the end though, this is a personal question that can only be answered by you. My particular config cost $3899, so if two years or so in the thing just died and it was $1k+ (like it was for my quote to fix my 2016 laptop) how comfortable would you be in potentially replacing vs repairing the machine? Having to fork out $4000 to fix a problem that I could have resolved with $350 back when I purchased my old computer in 2016 was a tough pill to swallow. If this was year 2 or 3 in this product cycle I would be less inclined to buy the AppleCare, but in year 1 I'm going to buy a little insurance for this thing so I'm not potentially dealing with the same issue again in a couple of years. Also, if I were getting the base config, which can be had for about $2200, I probably would make a different decision on the AppleCare. But everyone's mileage on this will vary.
Yep I am aware local and EU laws and it may not be a whole load of hoops after all. Small claims procedure is the way to go if someone wants to recoup some of the costs provided they have engaged with seller without any outcome.
But hope it doesnt come to that. I think I am gonna go for AC+
I would not recommend buying a $2500+ laptop without AC+... because after the 1st year you are on your own, and with next two zero repairability, no thanks. Even on a Dell or Lenovo I buy the warranty for peace of mind. Sure it add's to the overall cost, but IF something happens in two years, breaks or even an accidental drop or spill, you're covered. Heck, I wish Apple even offered 4-5 year options on AC+ I'd pay for it. And I repair Macs & PC's for a living.
If AC+ costs 450euros, why not just sell this one when regular warranty expires and buy a new one?
You will lose as much of selling the old one as you would spend on AC+, but will end up with a NEW machine.
The only reason to NOT do this is accidental damage.
You will lose as much of selling the old one as you would spend on AC+, but will end up with a NEW machine.
The only reason to NOT do this is accidental damage.
I've had two Macbook Pro's prior to my 16. Both machines had classic AppleCare and both went in for what I call a "spa retreat" at the mothership for new batteries at around the 2.5yr mark. Both laptops came back with new batteries, new cases, new motherboards, and in one instance a new screen/top case as well, and were basically new machines when I received them. This like new status allowed me to sell them for a premium because of super low battery cycle counts, flawless exterior appearance, and 6 months of remaining AppleCare. AppleCare has proven to be very well worth the cost to me.
Last edited:
I am not sure about that.
I think at least 40 - 50 % of cost price might get wiped out after a years use.
Sounds like a lot.
You mean that used 16" will cost $1300-$1560 this December?
[automerge]1578932495[/automerge]
Yep based on selling experience here. I dont try hard enough but they do lose out a lot in value. I will doing good if i get 1500 euros.
But selling is not on my mind. I like to keep this one like my 2012 mac mini which still works